Thursday, December 15, 2011

Outrage: Girl's rape lie causes one man to be beaten badly, sends boyfriend to prison for three years

The following is the latest in a long line of similar stories this blog reports on a regular basis. It is the reason we have this blog. A girl's rape lie damages two men, and she escapes unscathed. All persons of good will should be outraged.

Jess Cooper, 17, was given the kind penalty usually given for minor traffic infringements after her false rape allegation led to an innocent man being beaten up and another man sent to jail.While Cooper and her then boyfried, Philip Hollyman, 22, were at a bar, she lied to him, telling him that another man at the bar, named Andrew Lester had raped her. In fact, Cooper and Mr. Lester previously had a one night stand. Cooper told her rape lie, according to a Hollyman family friend, to the whole pub, in the presence of Mr. Hollyman's friends and some of his family.

Mr. Hollyman reacted the way impulsive young man too often react to news that a loved one has been raped. He punched and kicked Mr. Lester to the floor, leaving Mr. Lester with eight fewer teeth, a broken cheekbone and nose, and permanently damaged hearing. In short, it was a brutal beating.

Cooper made a complaint about the rape to police, but quickly came to her senses and told them it was not true. Cooper's boyfriend was sentenced to 3 years in prison. The judge who sentenced the boyfriend was shocked that the police had decided not to prosecute Cooper. It ‘beggared belief,’ he said. The judge said she bore a "huge responsibility" for the attack because of her lie. "Crying rape is an extremely serious thing to do. I hope the police will reflect on whether this was the appropriate action to take. It just isn’t right." The judge said he was able to reduce Hollyman’s sentence because the "provocation is very significant." He added -- and this is both telling and correct -- that Mr. Hollyman was "in many ways" a victim.

As for the sentence that Cooper could have received, the Mail Online explains: "According to Crown Prosecution Service guidance, women who cry rape, so risking the arrest of an innocent man, should normally be charged with perverting the course of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of life."

Go to the article and read the comments. Please note these are regular newspaper readers, not regular readers of this blog.